Discussions By Condition: I cannot get a diagnosis.

tired and weak, what could I have?

I am 21 years old, in good shape, eat healthy, drink a lot of water and sleep more than 8 hours almost every night. But I have been feeling very tired and weak for more than two months now. Before these months it was a problem as well but since late august it has become much worse. I went to my doctor with this problem and I got a few blood tests but they all came in negative. So, I don’t have diabetes or anemia. He also checked my liver functions and found that one was a little higher than It should be, but he told me that it was nothing to worry about and that it could have been caused by the flu or something. He also checked for something to do with infections and that was also OK. Furthermore, I found out a while ago that I have hemochromatosis which causes iron to stack up in my blood. But because I am still young it isn’t a problem yet and since they found it early it will never be a problem. My ferritin levels where a little higher than normal but not nearly high enough to cause this. I also have an appointment for this later this month.

These are my symptoms:

- Feeling tired in general. The severity isn't constant, sometimes I feel relatively fine but never truly energetic. - My cognitive functions are impaired, I'm slow and my metal energy is very limited. I really notice this when studying, I get light headaches, dizziness and become unable to study. As a result, my performance at the university has become very poor. - Physically I've become a lot weaker as well. I'm used to exercise and train a lot. I'm in good shape and I train karate. But now when training or exercising, I quickly get exhausted and dizzy. In addition my legs have become really weak, especially my quadriceps. They often feel very heavy and they can't take much exercise. -The moment this started also I got quickly irritated and tired eyes. And at times I have trouble seeing thing clearly and I have to deliberately strain my eyes to see clearly. My doctor has given me eye drops (Livocab) which is often used to treat hay fever. I’ve been using these for a while now and my eyes feel much better.

I was hoping someone on this forum might have an idea what could be bothering me, so the next time I go to my doctor I can come up with some suggestions on what I should be tested for.

I was not tested for mono. I think it was because I haven't had most symptoms for it and the fact that I have been pretty tired before it got serious (in total atleast half a year now). But I could ask him next time if there is any chance that I got it.

"Have you been checked for a B12 deficiency?""Have they checked thyroid?"Nope. I have been looking into vitamin and mineral deficiencies, I think a B12 deficiency is definitely possible. I don't know much about thyroid stuff though, but I will look into that as well. Thanks.

I shared most of your symptoms at the onset of my Post Viral Fatigue- I got infected with a virus and this led to fatigue and weakness for many many months after. From my experience (as I got tested a lot), you should look into the following:Vitamin or mineral deficienciesDepression (rule it out as a factor)Thyroid function (sometimes blood tests alone are not enough, I had an ultrasound)Allergies to some forms of food (celiac disease)Virological blood tests (the ones that will show if you had, among others, mono). Take it easy at this point and do not stress yourself physically or mentally. Keep trying until you get an answer. My thoughts are with you.

Thank you Lenna, your post was very helpful. I will look into these possibilities and discuss them with my doctor. As for depression, I have been a little depressed for a while now. But considering my condition I think this is normal.